A goal fest, a World Cup record, and a happy FCZ player

For the first time since winning the World Cup in 2014, Germany is aiming to advance past the group stage of a World Cup finals—and the start went exactly as planned. Against Curaçao, the newcomer and smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, two goals just before halftime—turning a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead—sealed the deal.

First, defender Nico Schlotterbeck scored his first international goal with a header off a corner kick to make it 2-1 (38'), then Kai Havertz converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to make it 3-1. The penalty was earned by Felix Nmecha, who had already scored the 1-0 goal in the 6th minute and was a key player in the German attack.

The second half turned into a showcase. Goals by Jamal Musiala just seconds after the break, Nathaniel Brown (68'), Denis Undav (78'), and Havertz again (88') resulted in the biggest win of the tournament so far.

The players from the Caribbean island—known as the “Blue Wave”—with a population of just over 150,000 put up a brave fight and were able to celebrate at least once. However, the 1-1 equalizer by Livano Comenencia, the young FC Zurich midfielder who beat Germany’s veteran Manuel Neuer with a deflected shot, remained the only highlight.

Neuer’s record-breaking match

At 40 years old, Neuer tied French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’s World Cup record with his 20th World Cup appearance. He had actually retired from the national team after the 2024 home European Championship, but returned for the major tournament following some media uproar and is now also the oldest player in German World Cup history.

Although the Germans have still never managed to keep a clean sheet since their 1-0 World Cup final victory over Argentina in 2014, but unlike in 2018 (0-1 against Mexico) and 2022 (1-2 against Japan), they did not allow themselves to be outplayed by an underdog—albeit a significantly weaker one this time—in their tournament opener. However, the team’s true strength will likely only be revealed in Saturday’s second match against Ivory Coast. Defensively, the Germans did not always look solid against Curaçao.

Match Report:

Germany – Curaçao 7–1 (3–1)

Houston. – 68,021 spectators. – Referee: Jayed. – Goals: 6. Nmecha (Wirtz) 1–0. 21. Comenencia 1:1. 38. Schlotterbeck (Brown) 2:1. 45. Havertz (penalty) 3:1. 47. Musiala (Kimmich) 4:1. 68. Brown (Undav) 5:1. 78. Undav (Kimmich) 6:1. 88. Havertz (Undav) 7:1.

Germany: Neuer; Kimmich (83. Anton), Tah (73. Rüdiger), Schlotterbeck, Brown (73. Raum); Nmecha (73. Goretzka), Pavlović; Sané, Musiala (64. Undav), Wirtz; Havertz.

Curaçao: Room; Floranus, Bazoer, Obispo, Fonville; Comenencia, Leandro Bacuna, Juninho Bacuna; Chong (83. Kastaneer); Locadia (65. Margaritha), Hansen (46. Antonisse).

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